The Crew of the Azure Avenger
by Paradox Alpha
Summary: In a galaxy of darkness, what does one do but seek a hero? Unfortunately for Jedi Initiate Ronin Vann, that hero is him. Now, he finds himself stuck on a ship with a group of women who don't really quite get along as they fling themselves across the galaxy, desperately trying to break the tide of the Sith Empire's invasion. RoninxHarem, TOR era (JK AU)


_**'Sup, y'all? This here be a story based off the SWTOR game, but the games category had basically no viewers, so it's here. Deal.**_

_**Anyway, this story was commissioned anonymously (but not) by a dude who I totally don't know, and it's a Jedi Knight x harem.**_

_**The haremettes are as follows...**_

_**Kira Carsen / Semi-Dark Kira (19)**_

_**Elara Dorne (25)**_

_**Risha Drayen (21)**_

_**Akaavi Spar (25)**_

_**Nadia Grell (18)**_

_**Vette (19)**_

_**Jaesa Willsaam (21)**_

_**So yeah... It's gonna be crazy, kids.**_

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_**Chapter One, Part 1**_

_The Flesh Raiders-_

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Tython, the ancient home world of the Jedi Order, hung in the emptiness of space like a jewel on a field of black velvet. Large, blue oceans covered much of the planet, and it was accompanied by equal amounts of untouched greenery on the planet's three continents. A space station floated in its gravity- one put there by the Republic to make sure that the newly returned residents would be supported, should the Sith Empire attack.

A Rendaran-Class assault shuttle left the station and quickly made its way down through the atmosphere. The ride for its single passenger was a smooth one, and he opted to stand, rather than sit. He was a well-built man of nineteen, swathed in a white, high-collared trench coat that extended down to his armoured ankles. It was tattered and the sleeves barely made it past his mid-forearm, but the AMP technology was still evidently functional in the pulsing blue lines on the flexible armour plates on his back, shoulders and chest. Armour covered his gauntlets, boots and thighs, and a pair of training lightsabers were slung at an angle from a sash across his back.

A head of longish, wiry, medium gray hair was mounted confidently on top of his shoulders, and a pair of icy blue eyes stared straight at the bulkhead that would open onto the boarding ramp.

With a hiss, the shuttle opened and Ronin Vann stepped out into the clean air of Tython.

A Jedi Knight stood at the edge of the landing platform. He was shorter than Ronin, but his brown cloak and the scarred plastron across his chest made it clear that he wasn't one to be trifled with.

Ronin descended the ramp and walked over to him. "Greetings."

"Welcome to Tython, Initiate Vann. I trust your trip from Dantooine was uneventful?"

Ronin shrugged indifferently. "It passed quickly."

"Come this way."

The Knight led him up the ramp to the sprawling complex that was labelled the Masters' Retreat by a large Aurebesh sign. Inside was a small room with a holoterminal and a few consoles. The Knight walked over to one and tapped a control that extended a chair from the floor. He gestured for Ronin to sit.

"I understand that your training has been quick. You joined the Order at twelve, and already you are the most promising warrior the Order has seen in centuries. To be able to defeat the battle master himself at just nineteen, especially with such an unorthodox fighting style... You are truly gifted."

"It's easy to excel when you're taught by the best," Ronin said modestly, smiling in embarrassment.

"Regardless, the Council has agreed to offer you as Padawan to a Master here on Tython. In all likelihood, it will be Master Ophelia. She has been seeking a Padawan for months, but found none of them were quite rambunctious enough to keep up with her."

"I assume that she's going to be sitting in on the Council when I meet with them?"

"Probably. You should know that the taxi speeders are down right now. The Flesh Raiders knocked out the tower that controls their flight paths."

Ronin's brow furrowed. "What are Flesh Raiders?"

"Glad you asked." The Knight moved over to the holoterminal and started to type rapidly. A few seconds passed before a pair of stout creatures were projected up to eye level. They were hideously ugly things, clothed poorly by loincloths and leather straps. "Flesh Raiders are primitive, non-Human creatures that seem to have evolved here since the Order originally left. We've been having serious problems with them, lately. At first, we could deal with them relatively easily, but that was before we knew what they were. Three guesses why we call them Flesh Raiders."

"They like to give cuddles and hugs, of course," Ronin replied sarcastically.

"If only. No, they're much worse. A few weeks after our original arrival and a few days after we discovered them, seven of them raped a Padawan to death."

Shock flooded Ronin's face as he took in the ugly creatures' appearance. They hardly looked dangerous, if you ignored their shark-like faces. "What? How?"

"She was out at night, alone, and they caught her before she could draw her lightsaber. They left her body completely intact, but the things they did to her are things that are punishable by death on some worlds."

"Then we should put up defences."

"We have, but lately they've been different. More organized. They've displayed Force sensitivity and tactics befitting the Republic Army, and we've lost dozens of Jedi just to their raping parties, let alone the dozens more that we've lost trying to figure out where they come from. We're still recovering from our loss during the Sacking of Coruscant. We can't afford-"

A piercing scream interrupted him and his eyes lit with panic.

"Flesh Raiders? Here?!" he cried.

The Knight's lightsaber flew off his belt and into his hand, but he was slow. Ronin was already out the door and halfway across the deck, his feet barely touching the ground. The Initiate leapt over the railing and down onto the field below. The scream had come from near the nearby river, and that was where he ran.

How no one had noticed the Raiders, he didn't know. They were everywhere.

Ronin leapt high into the air with the help of the Force and brought both arms down, slamming his armoured fists into the skull of the nearest Raider. Dead, it collapsed to the ground as the others all ran for cover, drawing blasters and training sabers. The Initiate drew his own and spun them defensively, deflecting the blaster bolts back at their retreating owners as he dodged the ones that weren't favourable.

He caught sight of the girl that the scream came from. She was a green-skinned Twi'Lek, about his age. A group of Flesh Raiders surrounded her, having torn her clothes off and already beaten her severely. Both of her ankles looked broken.

Ronin let out a battle cry as he hurled both of his training sabers. Two fell and the rest drew blasters as the Initiate jumped, caught his sabers and slashed one of the Flesh Raiders into thirds. That left two of them.

He rolled out of the way as the Flesh Raiders fired at him to cover their retreat, and he didn't stop them. They disappeared over a hill and that was that.

Ronin rushed over to the girl, who was shaking like a leaf, and helped her to sit up. Her brown, teary eyes were wide and manic and her mouth was open in a silent scream. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest to protect her modesty. Ronin waved a hand in front of her eyes to get her attention, and her head whipped around to face him.

"Help!" she shrieked, burying her face in the folds of his coat. "They won't leave me alone!"

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her closer as he used the Force to numb her ankles, "They're gone now. You're safe."

"They're gone?"

"They won't ever hurt you again. Do you have a name?"

"R-Ranna Tao'ven," she stuttered.

"Ranna. I'm going to pick you up and bring you back to the Masters' Retreat, okay?"

"O-o-okay."

The Initiate slid an arm under her knees and his other behind her back as he lifted her. She clung to him tightly, refusing to let go even when the Knight arrived with a half dozen other Jedi. "What in the name of the Force happened here?" he asked, returning his lightsaber to his belt.

"Flesh Raiders cornered her. I drove them back."

"There has to be fifteen bodies here! You did that on your own?"

"Her name's Ranna Tao'ven," Ronin continued, ignoring the Knight's shock.

He shook his head and gestured back toward the retreat. "Yes, of course."

...oOo...

To Ronin's surprise, Ranna turned out to be the daughter of the matriarch of Talloran village. Apparently, a group of Twi'Lek had settled on Tython illegally a few years ago, and had been struggling to survive against constant threats from the Flesh Raiders. Ronin felt a pang of sorrow for them, but it was tempered by the fact that they'd been stupid enough to move to a planet that they knew barely anything about.

The path to the Jedi Temple was not a long one, but Ronin walked it slowly just so he could take in the natural beauty of the planet. No Flesh Raiders dared to approach him, though he could sense that they were there. They felt fear.

The Temple, unlike the one on Dantooine, had no gates. Instead, as Ronin finally reached the bottom of the hill, he saw a bustling space where dozens of Initiates were milling about, following Masters and Knights and the like through training and exercises. A few of them were even relaxing.

Ronin smiled at how active the Jedi community was as we walked through, nodding his respects to his superiors. The Temple's entrance had no doors, but was instead a pair of opposing paths around a wide pillar. The ceilings were seven times his height, easily, and the foyer was one of the biggest rooms he'd ever seen that wasn't meant to house cargo or starships.

It was a two-levelled rotunda with a pair of ramping footpaths up to the second level. A pedestal sat in the centre of the room with the Great Holocron sitting atop it. The thing was a massive dodecahedron, and it was beyond beautiful. The Force seemed to sing around him as walked further in.

"Ronin Vann?"

The Jedi Initiate turned to see a woman who was, at her oldest, in her early fifties. She had short, graying black hair that was tied in a quartet of diminutive braids, and she wore more armour than even Ronin did.

"Can I help you?" he asked, turning to her.

The woman bowed her head and spoke. "I am Grand Master Satele Shan. I would like to speak to you before the Council meets."

Ronin bowed low. "Of course, Grand Master."

She led him down a path to his left, and down a series of winding hallways to a meditation room. Two members of the Consular's Guard stood outside, their saberstaffs unignited, but in hand. The room itself was spartan in its decorations, and the floor was bare but for a pair of red cushions and several incense candles.

Shan seated herself with her legs folded under her body, and Ronin sat cross-legged with his back as straight as he could make it. "So," she started. "How was your trip from Dantooine?"

"Uneventful," Ronin replied. "The lights in the shuttle were out, for some reason, so I slept most of the way."

"A good way to pass time. Digressing, I called you here so that I might give you some warning."

"About?"

"Well, there are only two senior Padawans on the planet at the moment, and one is already assigned to Master Kiwiiks. However, two Masters are vying for you. The Council will ultimately decide where to place you, but we tend to give contenders a chance to discuss the matter, first. Orgus Din, is the most likely to be civil about it, but master Ophelia is, well..."

"Spry?"

"A fair way of putting it. If she draws her lightsaber, don't do anything. She'll calm down after a few minutes."

Ronin held back a chuckle, but Shan smile and waved off his hesitation. He burst out laughing. "Am I really in that much demand? There are plenty of other Padawans on Tython."

"Perhaps, but you are by far the most skilled."

"Then who's the other one? Master Kiwiiks' Padawan."

"Her name is Kira Carsen. I have a feeling that the two of you will really hit it off."

"What makes you say that?"

"You share the same... unique sense of humour."

Ronin gave a knowing nod and Shan stood, extending a hand to help him up. "Well, then. Shall we?"

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_**Reviews for the First-Time author? Pretty please?**_


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